Bageshri – Drut Ektaal – Notes from a practice session

In this post, I have published a video showing a recording of a practice session featuring a Drut Ektaal composition in Bageshri – which I believe has never been played before on the sarod (so I get to be first ???).Anyway, frivolities aside, I’m not quite sure why this masterpiece of vocal music (called Apni Garaj Pakar Leeni Baiyan Mori) hasn’t been played more on the sarod. It suits the vocal style perfectly. The video is designed to show the fingering approach to this piece.

The link is here:

After the main part, I focus on taan and tihai development, with multiple iterations and permutations designed to terminate on the Sam. This bit is sometimes the hard slog of “tayyari” or readiness for a performance. You need to have the framework of the piece ready in your mind and improvise within that framework. Most of the taans are linear vocal type, but I do fit in some rhythmic style ones as well, designed to vary the tone of the taan.
Due to the vast expanse of the raga, I simply manage to cover taans just ending in the first line (mukhda) – imagine the possibilities… you could spend months on this piece alone….

Next, I’ll post a few drut teentaal bandishes on the sarod in Bageshri – most of them never played before on this instrument.